Indie Spotlight: ‘Ocean Parkway’ Showcases Its Own Little Slice Of Americana

We receive a ton of tips every day from independent creators, unaffiliated with any major motion picture studios, television networks, new media studios, or other well-funded online video entities. The Indie Spotlight is where we’ll write about and shout out to a select few of them and bring you up to speed on the great (and sometimes not-so-great) attention-grabbing series you probably haven’t heard about until now. Read previous installments here.

The democratic nature of the indie web series community means that anyone with a decent camera can tell their own slice-of-life story, but despite that fact, the majority of shows featured in this space come from creators in their 20s and 30s, many of whom are single and looking for love. Ocean Parkway tells a different story. Led by forty-something writers Maccabee Montandon and Nicole Haran, it tells the story of a four-person family unit that must adapt to their life on the titular Brooklyn street.

At the start of Ocean Parkway, parents Tina (Nadia Quinn) and Paul (Jim Santangeli) and their tween daughters Edie and Lo have moved into a new building. Much of the series takes within that building, with the other residents serving as supporting characters. Like many other shows set in the big city, Ocean Parkway focuses on strange and hectic situations, but it does so with a fresh perspective. Tina and Paul are driven by parental love, while Edie and Lo see their new city through the precocious eyes of curious youngsters. With that mixed point-of-view, the show connects to a wide range of viewers.

Ocean Parkway, ep 1: Moving Day from Ocean Parkway on Vimeo.

Four episodes of Ocean Parkway are currently available. You can find them on the show’s website.

OTHER UNDER-THE-RADAR SERIES TO CHECK OUT

• The One Woman Show. With nothing more than a stage and a lot of costumes, an actress humorously reenacts popular TV.
• UnSuper. Individual episodes explore the fates of normal and boring people in a superhero-filled world.
• Ground Floor Comedy. This group’s latest sketch pokes fun at gay Republicans.

Got a series you’d like to see featured in the Indie Spotlight? Be sure to contact us here. For best coverage, please include a full episode in your e-mail.